Hospital roof collapses in India, injuring 8

Apr. 26, 2013
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by USA TODAY

by USA TODAY

NEW DELHI (AP) - Part of a hospital building collapsed in central India on Friday after its roof came crashing down, injuring at least eight people, an official said.

More than a dozen people were rescued after being trapped in the rubble of the Kasturba Gandhi Hospital in Bhopal, the capital of Madhya Pradesh state, state minister Babu Lal Gaur said. None of the injuries were serious.

Police officer Upendra Jain said about two dozen people were believed to be on the first floor of the women's medical ward when its roof crashed down. The cause of the collapse was not immediately known.

The hospital is operated by state-run Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd., Gaur said. Bhopal is about 750 kilometers (465 miles) south of New Delhi.

Building collapses are common in India as builders try to cut corners by using substandard materials, and as multistory structures are built with inadequate supervision. The massive demand for housing around cities and pervasive corruption often result in builders adding unauthorized floors or constructing illegal buildings.

Early this month, at least 72 people were killed when an eight-story residential building being constructed illegally near Mumbai, India's financial capital, came crashing down in the worst building collapse in the country in decades.

Another 70 people were injured when the building in the Mumbai suburb of Thane caved in on April 4.

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